Conventional techniques and manufacturing processes for producing optical fibers generally include drawing optical fiber downward from a draw furnace and along a linear pathway through multiple stages of production in an optical fiber draw tower. Accordingly, fiber production systems are generally oriented along a vertical pathway. Such systems present a significant impediment to improving and modifying the optical fiber manufacturing process. For example, the equipment associated with the vertically linear production of optical fiber is generally aligned in a top to bottom fashion thereby making it difficult to add components to the system or modify existing components without adding height to the overall system. In some cases, such as when the existing production system is at or near the ceiling of the existing facility, the addition of equipment and/or components to the linear production system necessitates additional construction to add height to the facility in order to accommodate the additional equipment and/or components. Further, interchanging and/or servicing vertically linear optical fiber production equipment may require the use of additional equipment such as scaffolds, lifts and the like. Such impediments result in significant additional costs when modifying, updating, and or repairing optical fiber production systems and facilities.
After being drawn from the draw furnace, the optical fibers are generally coated with a UV-curable material, such as an acrylate material, to protect the fiber and improve the optical characteristics of the fiber. Some optical fibers may have multiple coatings applied to the optical fiber. For instance, the optical fiber may have a primary coating disposed immediately adjacent the glass fiber while a secondary coating is applied around the primary coating. Each coating may serve a different function. For example, the primary coating may be used to improve the optical properties of the optical fiber while the secondary coating may be used to improve the durability of the optical fiber.